In 1923, a sign was erected in Los Angeles to promote a new real estate development called “Hollywoodland.” By 1924, it was modified to read “Hollywood” to reflect the rapidly growing film industry nearby. Throughout the whole 20th century, the sign saw multiple restorations, pranks, visits by famous celebrities, and even auctions, and it will soon be turning 100 years old.

1924 was a momentous time in history, film stars and starlets were glammed up and starting to carve the culture of fame. It also marked the year the first film to be completely produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), and the first to include the famous lion, Leo. In He Who Gets Slapped, “Man of a Thousand Faces” Lon Chaney embodies a scientist whose scientific research and wife is stolen by his former patron. Damaged and no longer well-off, Chaney’s scientist becomes a clown at a Parisian circus, dubbed “HE Who Gets Slapped.” The late great Norma Shearer plays his enthralling performance partner and signified the rise of the “Hollywood Starlet.”

Soon after the “Roaring Twenties” faded into the Great Depression, the Hollywood sign was neglected and left unattended until the latter part of the 1940s. 

During and after the Allied Victory over the Axis in World War II, patriotic productions, such as Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss)’s WWII propaganda cartoons “Private Snafu” and Walt Disney’s “Der Fuehrer’s Face” and “Commando Duck.” helped strengthened the Golden Age of Hollywood. By 1949, the Hollywood Sign was once again repaired, and the “-LAND” was removed.

As tensions rose during the Cold War, the red scare occurred and included the emergence of widespread McCarthyism. Talented and controversial people suspected of being associated with the Communist Party USA were blacklisted and forced to be put on trial before the House Committee of Un-American Activities. They were dubbed “The Hollywood Ten.” These heated times led to the creation of the Committee for the First Amendment in 1947, which included some of the most iconic entertainment stars of all time. People like Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Danny Kaye, Judy Garland, Ira Gershwin, Henry Fonda, Groucho Marx, Katharine Hepburn, Gene Kelly, and Frank Sinatra were in the committee and represented the integration of politics and entertainment. 

By the 1970s, the Hollywood Sign was in need of repair again, and this time, Hugh Hefner auctioned off its letters to buyers Alice Cooper, Gene Autry, and Andy Williams (among others). Each letter cost $27,000, and raised sufficient funds to rebuild the whole sign.

YLHS Student Ryan Hernandez remarks that it is “interesting to see that Hollywood is still the center of American entertainment.” He wonders if “[Hollywood] will still be relevant in 50 years” or if another city would become the next entertainment hotspot.

Currently, the Hollywood Sign is being refurbished with 250 gallons of white paint in preparation for its 100th year anniversary. There will be multiple events and activities taking place next year in celebration of the iconic symbol of the western limelight.